Directed by Charlie Chaplin Film critic Stanley Kauffmann said of Charlie Chaplin that The Great Dictator made him the David to Hitler's Goliath. Chaplin's first talkie film, with the last (possible) incarnation of The Tramp, started off as a parody of Hitler and became an act of defiance somewhere along the way. The film was put … Continue reading The Great Dictator (1940)
world war II
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa World War II ended before Akira Kurosawa finished shooting The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail. The film was made to be short, cheap and suitable to Japanese censors, but when the Allied forces took over they brought with them American censors who considered the subject of feudal Japan to be … Continue reading The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa Two young lovers look through an open house in Tokyo. With only 35 yen between them, Yuzo doesn't understand why his girlfriend, Masako, bothers pretending they could ever afford a place like this. Yuzo:"We have to face reality to survive in a world like this." Masako: "This is the kind of … Continue reading One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Directed by John Sturges In Bad Day at Black Rock, Spencer Tracy plays John Macreedy, a fish out of water in an almost unbelievably tiny town somewhere in the American southwest. His arrival itself threatens the insular town, and even when he realizes his life is at risk he maintains his cool, fighting fire with long … Continue reading Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Directed by Billy Wilder [EDIT: This is a long, rambling review as I try to figure out what Stalag 17 is really about. By the end I decide it's about the postwar conditions of the 1950s, specifically the red scare. It takes me a while to get there, and I still might be completely missing the … Continue reading Stalag 17 (1953)
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